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Trial begins for 3 Tacoma officers charged in death of Manny Ellis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Jury selection started Monday in the trial of three Tacoma police officers charged in the death of Manuel “Manny” Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man who was tackled, punched, shocked with a stun gun and held face down on a sidewalk in March 2020, two months before George Floyd met a similar fate.Officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, who are white, have been charged with second-degree murder, and Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, faces first-degree manslaughter charges. They pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is expected to take two weeks and opening statements are slated to start Oct. 2 in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma. The trial is expected to run four days each week until December.Ellis purchased a box of doughnuts and some water at a convenience store at about 11:21 p.m. that Tuesday night and walked across the street, where he encountered Burbank and Collins sitting in a patrol car, according to a probable cause statement filed by the ...

Gator with missing nose and upper jaw finds new home in Florida reptile park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida reptile park has taken in an alligator that lost its nose and upper jaw to a fight or boat propeller.Gatorland Orlando said over the weekend that the injured alligator came from a lake in nearby Sanford, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Orlando.“She had basically no chance of surviving in the wild with such a severe injury,” the park said in a social media post.Over the next few days, the park’s veterinarian staff will be monitoring the gator in an effort to make sure it is eating in a stress-free environment, the park said.To get the gator to eat, the staff is cutting up small pieces of food which they will toss in the back of its throat, believing it had survived in the wild doing the same thing on its own with snails, slugs and frogs, Kathy Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the park, said in an email.Gatorland Orlando is home to thousands of alligators and crocodiles, a breeding marsh, an aviary, a nature walk, a petting zoo and educatio...

‘Spring tide’ ocean waves crash into buildings in South Africa, leaving 2 dead and injuring several

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Big ocean waves caused by a phenomenon known as “spring tide” crashed into coastal parts of South Africa over the weekend, leaving two people dead and injuring several, authorities said Monday.The weather service said that waves as high as 9.5 meters were recorded, with some damaging seaside buildings and sweeping cars through parking lots.The South African Weather Service said that 50% of the country’s coastline was hit by the sea surges. Two people died and at least seven were injured, it said. One of the two who died was a 93-year-old woman who was injured when water swept through a parking lot in the Wilderness area on the south coast, although the National Sea Rescue Institute said her death might have been from natural causes after she was taken to the hospital.In various places across the coast, the seas surged on Saturday and Sunday, smashing through railings, across roads and into buildings. In Gordon’s Bay near Cape Town, the water pick...

Republicans propose spending $614M in public funds on Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium upgrades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Republican legislators announced a bill Monday that would devote more than $614 million in public funding to repair and renovate the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium — far more than taxpayers spent to build it more than two decades ago.Under the proposal, the state would give the team $60.8 million next fiscal year and up to $20 million each year after that through 2045-46. The city of Milwaukee would contribute a total of $202 million and Milwaukee County would kick in $135 million by 2050.The team would contribute about $100 million and extend its lease at American Family Field through 2050, keeping major league baseball in its smallest market for another 27 years.Reports commissioned by the Brewers and another by a state consultant found the stadium’s glass outfield doors, seats and concourses should be replaced, its luxury suites and technology such as its sound system and video scoreboard need upgrades, and its signature retractable roof needs repairs. Fire sup...

Retrial delayed for man whose conviction in the death of former NFL player Will Smith was overturned

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The long-awaited retrial of the man whose conviction in the death of former NFL star Will Smith was thrown out because the jury verdict wasn’t unanimous was delayed without explanation Monday.State District Judge Camille Buras announced the continuance after meeting with prosecutors and defense attorneys for Cardell Hayes in her chambers Monday morning. No new date was set but a pre-trial hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.Hayes, 36, has insisted he shot Smith in self-defense during an April 2016 confrontation. At his December 2016 trial, he said he fired at Smith, hitting him once in the side and seven times in the back, only because he believed Smith had retrieved a gun from his SUV. He insisted on the stand that he heard a “pop” before he started shooting and that he did not shoot at Smith’s wife, who was hit in the legs.There was no other witness and no forensic evidence to back up Hayes’ claim that Smith had wielded or fired a weapon.Prosecutors ...

Person with knife allegedly threatening people in East York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

A person with a knife is allegedly threatening to stab people in the Victoria Park Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East area on Monday afternoon.Police responded to reports at approximately 12:14 p.m. of a male in the area allegedly threatening people, but did not locate the suspect.There have been no reported injuries.The man is described as male, white, 30 years old, 5’11, medium build, with short hair, wearing a camouflage hat, green vest and black pants.Police are on scene investigating and advise those in the area to be extra cautious.

Families of slain First Nations women disappointed by meeting with Anandasangaree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

OTTAWA — The families of two First Nations women whose remains are believed to be in a Winnipeg landfill say they were left feeling disappointed by a meeting with a Liberal cabinet minister in Ottawa.The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are suspected to be in the Prairie Green Landfill, a private facility north of Winnipeg, and families have been calling for provincial and federal leaders to fund a search.Their families say they expected Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree to tell them the federal government would tell them the federal government would fund the search when they met with him today.Daughter Cambria Harris is instead calling the meeting a retraumatizing experience, and says federal government has not yet promised to help.Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Harris, Myran and two others — Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in a different landfill last year, and an unidentified woman Indi...

Hearings in $1 billion lawsuit filed by auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn against Nissan start in Beirut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Hearings in the $1 billion lawsuit filed by auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn against Nissan and other defendants started in Beirut on Monday with lawyers of both sides meeting the judge in charge of the case, judicial officials said.The former Nissan CEO filed the case against Nissan in May in Beirut, alleging he was detained in Japan in 2018 on false charges because of what he calls the automaker’s disinformation against him. The 69-year-old Ghosn is seeking half of the $1 billion in damages and half for compensation including salary, retirement funds and stock options.Ghosn is also seeking monetary compensation from a Nissan affiliate based in Lebanon, as well as from entities that took part in the investigation leading up to his arrest.He was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. In December 2019, he jumped bail in Japan in a d...

Authorities identify 2 California pilots who died in air racing event in Reno, Nevada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two California pilots who died over the weekend in a collision during an air racing event in Reno.Officials identified the victims as Chris Rushing of Thousand Oaks and Nick Macy of Tulelake.The two planes collided at the end of the T-6 Gold race Sunday afternoon on the final day of the National Championship Air Races at Reno-Stead Airport, authorities said.Race officials said they are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and local authorities to determine the cause of the fatal crash.“It wasn’t a racing accident. It was indeed a post-race landing accident,” Reno Air Racing Association CEO Fred Telling said. “We all are curious of how this came to pass.”Telling described Rushing and Macy as skilled, expert pilots who had just finished in the top two spots in the T-6 Gold race.Rushing was the defending champion in the race. He was dedicated to promoting the history of th...

Monday Forecast: Temps in low 70s with decreasing clouds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:09 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly sunny Monday with isolated showers and patchy fog. Winds: ENE 5-10. High: 70. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy today with a few showers. Winds: S 0-5. Low: 55.Tuesday Forecast: Mainly cloudy to overcast, showers and thunderstorms. Winds: SSW 5-10 G20. High: 68.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog